My Real-Fake Guacamole:

Guacamole is one of my favorite spring/summer time treats. I hate ready-made guacamole and I am not a fan of making it from scratch, all the time. So, here is my real-fake version.

This takes about 5 minutes to make. Seriously.

• Cut fresh avocado into cubes (cut avocado in half, remove seed, cut squares into the flesh, remove with a spoon)
• Season to taste with salt and garlic
• Mash avocado
• Add ready-made pico de gallo salsa
• Combine, blend and fold until well blended
• Add the juice of half a lemon
• Continue to blend
• Cover and refrigerate. 

Enjoy!

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These are my Real-Fake Mashed Potatoes:

These are very simple…

• Boil 2 large potatoes until very soft. I use Yukon Gold potatoes.
• Make instant mashed potatoes are directed on the box: boil water, milk, add salt, butter. I also like to add fresh pressed garlic.
• Cut and combine the boiled potatoes with the instant mash. Whip with a blender until fluffy.

Done! Fast and easy. Fancier than just plain instant mash, not as much work as home cooked mash.

Enjoy!

Since getting remarried, last year, my diet has gone through significant changes. My husband is a pescetarian and, to make my life easier, my son and I became pescetarians, as well.

Now, 6 months later, I have began to incorporate other meats into my diet and give myself one cheat day a week. This week, my cheat meat was chicken and my son wanted it fried.

No problem!

Here’s how I do it:

• Clean chicken pieces with water, lemon, and vinegar in large bowl. Drain.
• Season chicken in bowl with seasoned salt, garlic, pepper, etc. Rub pieces.
• Whisk 2-3 eggs in a separate bowl, then, add eggs to seasoned chicken. Coat.
• Pour flour in plastic shopping bag. Season flour.
• Place chicken in the flour. Roll until coated. Let rest.
• Heat cooking oil (corn or canola) in large quart pan. Enough for deep frying.
• Fry pieces until deep golden brown, remover and place on paper bag and/or absorbent napkins.
• Poke pieces with a knife to be sure the meat is cooked throughout.

Everyone’s stove top is different, but I find medium/high heat to work best. I prefer to use thighs and wings for frying.

Enjoy!

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Goat Brie with Fig, Honey, and Nuts:

Here’s a little snack I like to make when having a girls day/wine and cheese with friends. The ingredients are very simple, all of which I purchase from Whole Foods.

• Goat Brie (circularly shaped, if possible): place brie in a bowl or small container with a lid. Remove rind from the top and score, deeply, with a knife.
• Fig Spread: smother brie with fig spread, liberally.
• Nuts: cover with plain, roasted, salted, or candied nuts, whole, crushed, or slivered.
• Honey: Drizzle nuts with pure honey.

Cover the dish and let set overnight for maximum marriage of tastes. Serve with seeded flatbread and meats like peppered pepperoni, pancetta, or prosciutto. I think, next time, I’ll crumble a bit of maple smoked, thick cut bacon and sprinkle it on top!

I’ve mentioned my quick Pineapple Ginger before but I figured I’d show you a little bit of what it takes to pull this cleansing juice together.

• Peel and cut ginger root
• Place into blender with a splash of pineapple juice
• Blend until smooth
• Strain in a colander (cheese cloth would be ideal)
• Add concentrated ginger pineapple mixture to the rest of the juice
• Add juice from one lemon (at least)

Ideally, you want your ginger to be very strong and not masked by the pineapple juice. Again, this juice is great to help aid in digestion and as a cleanse/detox component.

My manager and I had a little Friday night pizza bake-off last week and this is what it looked like. I would like to explain to you all the thins we put on our pizzas, but I can’t.

I just can’t.

Olives, mozzarella, pickled apricots, panchetta, churizo, basil. It was a lot. Both pizzas were very good but, according to my kid, I won the challenge.

I smell a rematch…

This morning, I made Cream of Wheat for breakfast.

Simple, hot, fast.

Naturally, since I don’t drink cow’s milk, I made it with almond milk. I added a few dashed of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a half capful of vanilla almond extract. I did not add any sugar since the milk is already sweetened.

This sort of cereal is famous for its ability to wind up super lumpy, so, be sure to whisk constantly while cooking.

My grandmother would our a little bit of cool milk on top and sprinkle with a little bit of extra sugar.

Love that.

Today’s lunch: Fried Cod & “Real Fake” Mashed Potatoes

Making mashed potatoes from scratch can be a hassle and require quite a bit of manpower and time. My “Real Fake” mashed potatoes are the perfect way to make instant mashed potatoes with that homemade taste and texture.

It’s super simple:

• Boil 3-5 Yukon Gold Potatoes (peel beforehand if you’d like)
• Prepare instant mashed potatoes, leaving them a little loose
• When ready, remove potatoes from the flame, dump boiling water and mash just a little.
• Combine Yukon Golds with instant mash and blend with electric mixer to desired consistency.
• Add salt, pepper, garlic, and butter to taste.

You can find my fried cod recipe here and search “recipe” to find more!

Enjoy!

So, spring is here and, with spring, comes rainy days in Los Angeles. A couple days ago, during a thunderstorm, I got a brilliant idea…

…hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream!

This version was just a quicky, instant hot chocolate (Swiss Miss) but here is my favorite hot cocoa recipe from Paula Deen.

Ingredients:

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 1/2 cups hot water
• Mini Marshmallows (optional)

Tip: Chocolate can be storedin the refrigerator up to 5 days. Mix well and reheat before serving.

Many states, cities, and countries are already having early summer weather but, for those of us still enjoying cooler evening temperatures or rainy days, there is nothing sweeter than hot cocoa.

Enjoy!

As the story goes, I’ve been having some digestive issues and was in search of something natural and non-dairy to soothe my stomach.

Well, the answer was right under my nose the whole time.

Being West Indian islanders, my husband and I are very familiar with Pineapple Ginger juice, a staple in our indigenous diets.

What we didn’t know is why we drink it! Turns out, both, pineapple and ginger are geniuses at working out those digestive kinks which are usually linked to a shortage of the acid needed to help us digest our food, properly.

This low acid can cause bloating, gas, heart burn, etc. Not to gross you out.

So, my husband whipped up a quickie version of the drink in our blender by peeling and blending lots of raw, fresh ginger, then, adding pineapple juice and blending some more.

He insists on making it from scratch, next time.

That’ll be an awesome post.

But, for now, this will do.

I’m looking forward to drinking lots of this, everyday.

TIP: Also, it is a very good concoction for a natural cleanse/detox.

UPDATE: Be sure to strain your juice when pouring it from the blender to the pitcher!

As usual, my husband and I did a little cooking and this is what it looked like. These are recipes you’ve seen before, so I won’t bore you with them: 

• Teriyaki salmon
• Coconut peas and rice
• Fried plantain
• Johnny cake
• Sweet potatoes
• Side salad

Search “recipe” for all my home cooking how-to’s.

I may have made the best coconut curry cod, ever! I served it with coconut peas and rice, sweet potatoes, and a side salad, as usual.

Here’s a quick recap of the recipes:

[Coconut Curry Cod]

• Chop onions, red bell peppers, green bell peppers,  cherry tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, and golden potatoes. Also, gather a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
• Heat olive oil in a large frying pan; just enough to cover the bottom.
• When oil is hot, add about 3 tablespoons of curry to the oil and allow the curry to burn a bit.
• Add your chopped seasonings and vegetables to oil and curry. Stir until blended. Let cook for a few minutes, allowing the flavors to marry.
• Add a half can of coconut milk and stir. A whole can is also ok, depending on your preference.
• Cover pan, allowing sauce to cook on medium heat, stirring often.
• Add fresh cod to the sauce, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, turning the fish ever so often.

[Coconut Peas and Rice]

• In a large saucepan or quart pan, blend one can of coconut milk and a half can of water (using the coconut milk can to measure). Bring to a simmer.
• Add sugar to taste and stir.
• Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a handful of coarsely chopped onions and maybe a scotch bonnet pepper, if you like a little spice.
• Add a can of beans (kidney or black).
• Add rice (minute rice is okay).
• Stir, cover, and simmer until cooked.

Enjoy!

Grilled Pound Cake ala Mode:

This is a super simple cheater’s recipe.

• Cut pound cake into slices.
• Brown in frying pan with melted butter.
• Serve with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Done! Now, if you’d like to make this recipe from scratch, more power to you. Tonight just isn’t the night…Enjoy!

So, I have a confession. Every once in a while, I get lazy and, instead of making a fresh, home cooked meal for my family…

I make canned tuna fish sandwiches.

I am so ashamed…

But, atleast, the photos came out well!

• I prepare the tuna very simply with coarsely chopped onions, fresh garlic, freshly cracked black pepper and coarse Kosher salt.
• I only use Oroweat Potato Bread.
• I only use Best Foods/Hellmann’s real mayonnaise. If you use Miracle Whip for any reason, get the hell off my site right the fuck now!
• I garnish my sandwiches with tomato and sprouts.
• On the side, I served Cadia Vegetable Chips.

Next time, however, I am going to make my tuna fresh. Canned foods are so bad for you and I try to limit them in my pantry –– with the exception of beans. I’m really not down for all that soaking and simmering.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Enjoy!

After posting my teriyaki salmon recipe and the photos of the picture-perfect results, I received quite a few messages asking about the kind of teriyaki sauce I prefer to use.

Now, teriyaki sauce can be very frustrating. There are alot of bottles of soy sauce posing as teriyaki. The thing about teriyaki is that it is a mixture of soy and sugar. This sugar can from your everyday refined variety, from natural fruit, or both.

Teriyaki should be thick. The thicker the better; this tells us that there is an ample amount of sugar in the product –– sugar being a natural thickening agent.

The particular brand I’m using is Waterfront Bistro and they make a Hawaiian teriyaki, which is sweetened with pineapple and brown sugar.

If you can’t find this brand where you shop, look for something similar. Whole Foods also carries a few teriyaki sauces I like. Just remember, the thicker the better. I also prefer sesame seeds in mine.

Enjoy!